Gay marriage bill: Peers back government plans

[TrogL]

Source: BBC

Peers have voted by more than two to one to back government plans for same-sex marriages in England and Wales.

...

The BBC's Norman Smith said plans were on course for the first same-sex weddings to take place next summer.

The bill would allow couples, who can currently form civil partnerships, to marry.

If it passes into law, religious organisations would have to "opt in" if they wished to offer gay weddings, except the Church of England and Church in Wales, which would be banned in law from doing so.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22764954

[DonViejo]

1. House of Lords overwhelmingly approves marriage equality bill

The U.K.'s upper house of Parliament passed the measure with a 390-148 vote, many expect it will soon become law

BY KATIE MCDONOUGH

Gay marriage is one step closer to becoming law in the United Kingdom after the House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament, voted more than two-to-one to approve a marriage equality bill.

The measure passed the House of Commons last month with a 205 majority.The wide approval margin in the House of Lords — a 390-148 vote — almost guarantees the measure will become law, according to the Guardian:

Although victory for the pro-bill lobby was never seriously in doubt, the size of their win took some peers by surprise. The Lords voted by 390 votes to 148 to reject an attempt by Lord Dear, a crossbencher, to defeat the bill at second reading. It is very unusual for the Lords to block a bill at second reading and some peers may have been voting against Dear because they were opposed to the idea of the Lords trying to obstruct legislation in this way, not because they were great supporters of the bill. But the size of the majority means the bill must now be certain to become law. However, it is still likely that attempts will be made to amend it in the Lords, in particular to strengthen the protection available to churches who do not want to conduct gay weddings. Lady Stowell, a government whip, told peers in her wind-up speech that the government would not necessarily object to amendments of this kind.

http://www.salon.com/2013/06/04/house_of_lords_overwhelmingly_approves_marriage_equality_measure/
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[nomorenomore08]

2. What about Scotland and Northern Ireland? Are they specifically excluded from the bill?

nt